Fans of Avatar have been left feeling blue by the realisation that the utopian
planet Pandora is not real, with some saying they are plagued by suicidal
thoughts.

The futuristic blockbuster from director James Cameron tells the story of a corporation trying to mine for a rare mineral on the planet Pandora after Earth's resources have been depleted.

The humans clash with the natives – a peaceful race of blue-skinned creatures called the Na'vi who live in harmony with nature.

Fans of the film have flooded the internet to express their distress at realising they will never be able to visit the utopian planet.

On one website, Avatar Forums, the topic "Ways to cope with the depression of the dream of Pandora being intangible" has more than 1,000 posts.

Ivar Hill, a 17-year-old fan from Sweden, wrote on a similar site: “When I woke up this morning after watching Avatar for the first time yesterday, the world seemed grey. It was like my whole life, everything I’ve done and worked for, lost its meaning … It just seems so meaningless. I still don’t really see any reason to keep doing things at all. I live in a dying world.”

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On another website, a user known as Mike was even more acutely affected. He wrote: "Ever since I went to see Avatar I have been depressed. Watching the wonderful world of Pandora and all the Na’vi made me want to be one of them.

"I can’t stop thinking about all the things that happened in the film and all of the tears and shivers I got from it. I even contemplate suicide thinking that if I do it I will be rebirthed in a world similar to Pandora and the everything is the same as in Avatar.”

Stacy Kaiser, a psychotherapist, said obsession with the film was masking more serious problems in the fans' lives. "They’re seeing Avatar, they're lonely people, a lot of them don’t have a lot going on in their lives right now," she said. "The movie opened up a portal for them to express their depression.”